Cars and Campaigns
I have sold my car. The buyer is a friend, a student, and also a politician. In the last of these identities, he decided to downgrade in the period coming up to the elections. He will put his late model Toyota 4x4 in storage and drive my Nissan Sunny for the coming months. Luxury cars, especially when driven by politicians, have apparently been attacked recently. They are largely believed to be gifts that the president and other leaders haven given to shore up their support. So they are often targeted as symbols of corruption.
The disparity in the quality of cars on the streets of Kinshasa is always striking. The overwhelming majority are indescribable--they only continue to run thanks to the genius of Congolese auto mechanics. Then there is a sizable minority of luxury vehicles--often 4x4 for the roads here. In a country where the average annual income is not much more than $100 and the traffic police get a salary of $20 per month, there is a Mercedes dealership. Yet there is no middle market of decent, efficient, environmentally friendly cars. The same can be said for many aspects of Kinshasa society.
Although my car is not a metaphor, it is a relatively rare find and my friend was happy to have it. We will see if it helps his campaign.
The campaign is heating up in a variety of ways, most of them unfortunate. A Congolese reporter was assassinated early in the week. Foreign journalists have been arrested and deported. Kabila will have some trouble in Kinshasa. During a speech in Kiswahili the east of the country, he complained that the Kinois don’t want to work, and live at home with their mothers until they are 40 years old. So much for bringing people together. He was never popular here, and is now even less so. I am less convinced that he will be elected than I was a few months ago. Everyone who I talk to believes that if he wins, he will be assassinated and/or face a civil war. It really is not clear that he will be able to govern from Kinshasa, the capital city, and will have to rely on his support in the east, which will exacerbate an enormous rift.
The disparity in the quality of cars on the streets of Kinshasa is always striking. The overwhelming majority are indescribable--they only continue to run thanks to the genius of Congolese auto mechanics. Then there is a sizable minority of luxury vehicles--often 4x4 for the roads here. In a country where the average annual income is not much more than $100 and the traffic police get a salary of $20 per month, there is a Mercedes dealership. Yet there is no middle market of decent, efficient, environmentally friendly cars. The same can be said for many aspects of Kinshasa society.
Although my car is not a metaphor, it is a relatively rare find and my friend was happy to have it. We will see if it helps his campaign.
The campaign is heating up in a variety of ways, most of them unfortunate. A Congolese reporter was assassinated early in the week. Foreign journalists have been arrested and deported. Kabila will have some trouble in Kinshasa. During a speech in Kiswahili the east of the country, he complained that the Kinois don’t want to work, and live at home with their mothers until they are 40 years old. So much for bringing people together. He was never popular here, and is now even less so. I am less convinced that he will be elected than I was a few months ago. Everyone who I talk to believes that if he wins, he will be assassinated and/or face a civil war. It really is not clear that he will be able to govern from Kinshasa, the capital city, and will have to rely on his support in the east, which will exacerbate an enormous rift.
posted by irad at 4:45 PM
0 Comments:
Enregistrer un commentaire
<< Home